New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 17 - PUBLIC UTILITIES AND UTILITY SERVICES
Chapter 7 - ENERGY CONSERVATION
Part 2 - ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Section 17.7.2.8 - PUBLIC UTILITY FILING REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATIONS AND ANNUAL REPORTS
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. Timing. Beginning in the year specified below, each public utility shall file an application every three years
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
El Paso Electric Company (and its successors) |
Southwest Public Service Company (and its successors) |
Public Service Company of New Mexico (and its successors) |
Zia Natural Gas Company (and its successors) |
New Mexico Gas Company (and its successors) |
Raton Natural Gas Company (and its successors) |
Any other public utility |
Each of the three years covered by an application shall, for the purposes of 17.7.2.7 NMAC, be treated as a plan year. Each public utility may, but is not required to, file an application prior to the year specified in this subsection. If a utility does not elect to file an application prior to the year specified in this subsection, the measures, programs and incentive approved in the utility's last energy efficiency case shall continue in effect until modified or terminated. If a utility does elect to file an application prior to the year specified in this subsection, the measures, programs and incentive approved in that case shall continue in effect as provided by the commission. All utilities shall file their annual reports each year and in the same docket as the application that covered the period of the annual report. Public Service Company of New Mexico (and its successors) shall file its application and its annual reports on April 15 of the applicable year. Southwestern Public Service Company (and its successors) shall file its application and its annual reports on May 15 of the applicable year. El Paso Electric Company (and its successors) shall file its application and its annual reports on June 1 of the applicable year. A natural gas company shall file its annual report on or before July 1 of each year, and shall file its application on or before August 31 of the applicable year in which it is required to file an application. If a specified filing date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the public utility shall file on the next business day.
B. Compliance with pre-filing requirements. Applications shall describe how the public utility has met the pre-filing requirements of Subsection E of Section 62-17-5 NMSA 1978, including descriptions of the process used to solicit non-binding recommendations, and any competitive bids required by the commission for good cause. The public utility shall identify by name, association, and contact information, each interested party that participated in the process, including commission staff, the attorney general, and the energy, minerals and natural resources department. The public utility shall summarize each participant's non-binding recommendation on the design, implementation, and use of third-party energy service contractors through competitive bidding for programs and measures.
C. The public utility shall identify within its application, its estimated plan year funding for energy efficiency and load management program costs for each year during the plan period.
D. The public utility's application shall calculate and provide the difference between its actual prior plan year expenditures for measures and programs and the same plan year's applicable funding required by statute. At the end of each plan year, the public utility shall calculate the following applicable values:
E. In each plan year, a public utility shall make its best efforts to expend its applicable plan funding as calculated in Subsection C of 17.7.2.8 NMAC above subtracting any applicable prior plan year overage or adding any applicable prior plan year underage; provided, however, that a public utility may periodically adjust its plan year expenditures by an amount not greater than ten percent of the approved funding level if the adjustment will result in aligning plan year expenditures more closely with projected plan year collections. By motion in the docket of its most recent energy efficiency case a utility may seek approval to adjust its plan year expenditures by more than ten percent of the approved funding level.
F. The application shall include an executive summary to facilitate commission review.
G. The utility shall utilize well known, commercially available or standard engineering, economic and financial calculations, ratings, and simulations, or other reasonable methods, to determine monetary costs and avoided monetary costs of measures and programs.
H. For each proposed measure or program, including previously approved measures and programs submitted for reauthorization, the application shall provide:
I. The public utility shall demonstrate, and has the burden to demonstrate, that it has evaluated and determined that the proposed measure or program is cost-effective and will reduce energy usage or energy demand or both, if approved by the commission and implemented by the utility.
J. The public utility shall demonstrate that its portfolio of proposed measures and programs are cost-effective, meets the utility cost test as defined by Subsection C of Section 62-17-4 NMSA 1978 and are designed to provide every affected customer class with the opportunity to participate and benefit economically.
K. The public utility shall demonstrate that no less than five percent of the funding for measure and program costs shall be specifically directed to measures or programs for low-income customers.
L. Any application that includes a proposed annual incentive award shall:
M. For each approved large customer self-directed program, the utility's application shall describe, in an annual report, the process that enabled the utility to determine that a large customer self-directed program met the cost-effective definition set forth in Subsection B of Section 62-17-9 NMSA 1978 and merited the credit or exemption.
N. The commission shall act expeditiously on the public utility's request for approval of its energy efficiency and load management measures and programs.